'Goa tourists face similar fate as Indians in Oz'

Panaji, Jun 3: Alexander Mantytsky, Russian Consul General has drawn a comparison between the attacks on Russian tourists in Goa and the racial attacks on Indian students in Australia.

Mantytsky told the reporters that it was the duty of the Goa police to protect the rights of the Russian citizens in India. He said, "It is my job to defend the rights of Russian citizens in Goa."

Mantystsky added that the police team in Goa were inefficient and poor investigations were carried in cases involving Russian citizens. He also accused the police of delaying the periodical updates sought by the Russian authorities in eight cases involving Russians, who have either died in Goa or have been a victims.

He also said that the crimes against Russian citizens did not spark the same kind of reaction as is being seen in India against racial attacks on Indian students in Australia.

Mantytsky said, "There are reports that Indian students do not want to go to Australia for higher studies. As a consul general in Mumbai I want more and more Russians to come to Goa. But we want these cases to be handled thoroughly."

"This season there were 44,000 Russians coming here as compared to the 41,000 last season, while the number of British citizens coming to Goa has slipped considerably," Mantytsky added.